US5861280A - Host cell expressing reduced levels of a metalloprotease and methods using the host cell in protein production - Google Patents

Host cell expressing reduced levels of a metalloprotease and methods using the host cell in protein production Download PDF

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US5861280A
US5861280A US08/894,772 US89477297A US5861280A US 5861280 A US5861280 A US 5861280A US 89477297 A US89477297 A US 89477297A US 5861280 A US5861280 A US 5861280A
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metalloprotease
host cell
aspergillus
protein
enzyme
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Jan Lehmbeck
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Novozymes AS
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    • C12N9/00Enzymes; Proenzymes; Compositions thereof; Processes for preparing, activating, inhibiting, separating or purifying enzymes
    • C12N9/14Hydrolases (3)
    • C12N9/48Hydrolases (3) acting on peptide bonds (3.4)
    • C12N9/50Proteinases, e.g. Endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.25)
    • C12N9/64Proteinases, e.g. Endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.25) derived from animal tissue
    • C12N9/6421Proteinases, e.g. Endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.25) derived from animal tissue from mammals
    • C12N9/6478Aspartic endopeptidases (3.4.23)
    • C12N9/6483Chymosin (3.4.23.4), i.e. rennin
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    • C12N15/00Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor
    • C12N15/09Recombinant DNA-technology
    • C12N15/63Introduction of foreign genetic material using vectors; Vectors; Use of hosts therefor; Regulation of expression
    • C12N15/79Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts
    • C12N15/80Vectors or expression systems specially adapted for eukaryotic hosts for fungi
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    • C12N9/00Enzymes; Proenzymes; Compositions thereof; Processes for preparing, activating, inhibiting, separating or purifying enzymes
    • C12N9/14Hydrolases (3)
    • C12N9/48Hydrolases (3) acting on peptide bonds (3.4)
    • C12N9/50Proteinases, e.g. Endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.25)
    • C12N9/58Proteinases, e.g. Endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.25) derived from fungi
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    • C12N9/00Enzymes; Proenzymes; Compositions thereof; Processes for preparing, activating, inhibiting, separating or purifying enzymes
    • C12N9/14Hydrolases (3)
    • C12N9/48Hydrolases (3) acting on peptide bonds (3.4)
    • C12N9/50Proteinases, e.g. Endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.25)
    • C12N9/58Proteinases, e.g. Endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.25) derived from fungi
    • C12N9/62Proteinases, e.g. Endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.25) derived from fungi from Aspergillus
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    • C12YENZYMES
    • C12Y304/00Hydrolases acting on peptide bonds, i.e. peptidases (3.4)
    • C12Y304/23Aspartic endopeptidases (3.4.23)
    • C12Y304/23004Chymosin (3.4.23.4), i.e. rennin

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to novel host cells and to methods of producing proteins. More specifically the invention relates to a host cell useful for the expression of heterologous proteins, which host cell has been genetically modified in order to express significantly reduced levels of a metalloprotease. Moreover the invention relates to a method of producing a heterologous protein, which method comprises cultivating the host cell in a suitable growth medium, followed by recovery of the desired protein.
  • Metalloproteases have been isolated from a number of eucaryotic sources. Neutral metalloproteases, i.e. metalloproteases having optimal activity at neutral pH, isolated from strains of Aspergillus also have been reported. Neutral metalloproteases have been classified into two groups, NpI and NpII Sekine; Agric. Biol. Chem. 1972 36 207-216!.
  • nucleotide sequence of a neutral metalloprotease II cDNA from Aspergillus oryzae have been disclosed Tatsumi H, Murakami S, Tsuji R F, Ishida Y, Murakami K, Masaki A, Kawabe H, Arimura H, Nakano E and Motai H; Mol. Gen. Genet. 1991 228 97-103!.
  • the nucleotide sequence of a neutral metalloprotease I cDNA from Aspergillus oryzae have never been disclosed.
  • metalloproteases may reduce significantly the stability of the product obtained by a cell.
  • the present invention provides a host cell useful for the expression of a heterologous protein product, which cell has been genetically modified in order to express significantly reduced levels of a metalloprotease, as compared to the parental cell.
  • the invention provides a method of producing a heterologous protein product in a host cell of the invention, which method comprises introducing into the host cell a nucleic acid sequence encoding the protein, cultivating the host cell in a suitable growth medium, and isolating the heterologous protein product.
  • the proteolytic action arising from metalloproteases have been significantly reduced, thereby improving the stability of the protein obtained by the method.
  • the protein obtained by the method of the invention can be obtained as a precursor protein, i.e. a zymogen, a hybrid protein, a protein obtained as a pro sequence or pre-pro sequence, or in unmaturated form.
  • FIG. 1 shows a map of plasmid pSO2, cf. Example 2;
  • FIG. 2 shows the construction of Aspergillus oryzae strain HowB101, cf. Example 2;
  • FIG. 3 shows the construction of plasmid pJaL335, cf. Example 2;
  • FIG. 4 shows the construction of plasmid pJaL399, cf. Example 2;
  • FIG. 5 shows the construction of plasmid pJaL218, cf. Example 4.
  • FIG. 6 shows a map of plasmid pToC56, cf. Example 5.
  • the present invention provides a host cell useful for the expression of heterologous proteins, which cell, when compared to the parental cell, has been genetically modified in order to express significantly reduced levels of a metalloprotease.
  • the parental cell is the source of said host cell. It may be a wild-type cell. Alternatively, besides a decrease in metalloprotease level, it may be genetically altered in another respect.
  • the host cell of the invention In order to produce the desired protein, the host cell of the invention obviously must hold structural (i.e. regions comprising the coding nucleotide sequences) and regulatory (i.e. regions comprising nucleotide sequences necessary or e.g. transcription, translation and termination) genetic regions necessary for the expression of the desired product.
  • structural and regulatory regions greatly depends on the product and the host cell in question.
  • the genetic design of the host cell of the invention may be accomplished by the person skilled in the art, using standard recombinant DNA technology for the transformation or transfection of a host cell vide e.g. Sambrook et al.; Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989!.
  • the host cell is modified by methods known in the art for introduction of an appropriate cloning vehicle, i.e. a plasmid or a vector, comprising a DNA fragment encoding the desired product.
  • an appropriate cloning vehicle i.e. a plasmid or a vector, comprising a DNA fragment encoding the desired product.
  • the cloning vehicle may be introduced into the host cell either as an autonomously replicating plasmid or integrated into the chromosome.
  • the cloning vehicle comprises one or more structural regions operably linked to one or more appropriate regulatory regions.
  • the structural regions are regions holding nucleotide sequences encoding the desired product.
  • the regulatory regions include promoter regions comprising transcription and translation control sequences, terminator regions comprising stop signals, and polyadenylation regions.
  • the promoter i.e. a nucleotide sequence exhibiting a transcriptional activity in the host cell of choice, may be one derived from a gene encoding an extracellular or an intracellular protein, preferably an enzyme, such as an amylase, a glucoamylase, a protease, a lipase, a cellulase, a xylanase, a oxidoreductase, a pectinase, a cutinase, or a glycolytic enzyme.
  • promotors for transcription in a fungal host cell are promotors derived from the gene encoding Aspergillus oryzae TAKA amylase, Aspergillus niger neutral ⁇ -amylase, Aspergillus niger acid stable ⁇ -amylase, Aspergillus niger or Aspergillus awamsii glucoamylase (gluA), Aspergillus niger acetamidase, Aspergillus oryzae alkaline protease, Aspergillus oryzae triose phosphatase isomerase, Rhizopus meihei aspartic proteinase, and Rhizopus meihei lipase.
  • Preferred are the Aspergillus oryzae TAKA-amylase and Aspergillus awamsii gluA promoters.
  • the cloning vehicle may also comprise a selectable marker, e.g. a gene, the product of which complements a defect in the host cell, or one which confers antibiotic resistance, such as ampicillin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol or tetracycline resistance.
  • a selectable marker e.g. a gene, the product of which complements a defect in the host cell, or one which confers antibiotic resistance, such as ampicillin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol or tetracycline resistance.
  • Aspergillus selection markers include amdS, pyrG, argB, niaD and sC, a marker giving rise to hygromycin resistance.
  • Preferred for use in an Aspergillus host cell are the amdS and pyrG markers of Aspergillus nidulans or Aspergillus oryzae.
  • a frequently used mammalian marker is the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene.
  • the host cell of the invention may be any host cell conventionally used for heterologous expression of proteins.
  • the host cell of the invention is a yeast or a filamentous fungus capable of producing a desired protein.
  • the yeast cell may be a strain of Saccharomyces, preferably Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
  • the filamentous fungus may be a strain selected from the group consisting of Acremonium, Aspergillus, Candida, Cocliobolus, Endothia, Fusarium, Humicola, Neurospora, Rhizomucor, Rhizopus, Thermomyces, Trichoderma, Podospora, Pyricularia, or Penicillium.
  • the filamentous fungus is a strain selected from the group consisting of Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus awamori, Aspergillus phoenicis, Aspergillus japonicus, Aspergillus foetus, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Humicola grisea, Neurospora crassa, Penicillium chrysogenum, Rhizomucor meihei, Trichoderma reesei, or Trichoderma viride.
  • the desired end product i.e. the heterologous protein expressed by the host cell of the invention, may be any eubacterial or eucaryotic protein.
  • a "heterologous protein product” is a protein which is not native to the host cell, or a native protein in which modifications have been made to alter the native sequence, or a native protein whose expression is quantitatively altered as a result of a manipulation of a native regulatory sequence required for the expression of the native protein, such as a promoter, a ribosome binding site, etc., or other manipulation of the host cell by recombinant DNA techniques.
  • the heterologous protein expressed by the host cell may also be a precursor protein, i.e. a zymogen, a hybrid protein, a protein obtained as a pro sequence or pre-pro sequence, or in unmaturated form.
  • the product is an enzyme.
  • the product is an eucaryotic enzyme, such as insulin, growth hormone, glucagon, somatostatin, interferon, PDGF, factor VII, factor VIII, urokinase, EPO, chymosin, tissue plasminogen activator, or serum albumin.
  • eucaryotic enzyme such as insulin, growth hormone, glucagon, somatostatin, interferon, PDGF, factor VII, factor VIII, urokinase, EPO, chymosin, tissue plasminogen activator, or serum albumin.
  • the product is an enzyme of fungal, of yeast, or of bacterial origin.
  • the enzyme is a glycosidase enzyme, e.g. an amylase, in particular an ⁇ -amylase (EC 3.2.1.1), a ⁇ -amylase (EC 3.2.1.2), a glucan 1,4- ⁇ -glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.3), a cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4), an endo-1,3(4)- ⁇ -glucanase (EC 3.2.1.6), an endo-1,4- ⁇ -glucanase (EC 3.2.1.8), a polygalacturonase (EC 3.2.1.15), an ⁇ -glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.20), a ⁇ -glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21), an ⁇ -galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22), a ⁇ -galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23), a xylan-endo-1,3- ⁇ -xylosidase (EC 3.2.1.32), an end
  • the enzyme is a lipolytic enzyme, in particular a lipase, an esterase, a phospholipase, or a lyso-phospholipase.
  • the enzyme is a phytase, in particular a 3-phytase (EC 3.1.3.8) or a 6-phytase (EC 3.1.3.26).
  • the enzyme is a proteolytic enzyme.
  • the enzyme is an oxidoreductase, such as a peroxidase or a laccase, a pectinase, or a cutinase.
  • Preferred hybrid polypeptides are prochymosin and pro-trypsin-like proteases.
  • a metalloprotease is a proteolytic enzyme containing a catalytic zinc metal center which participates in the hydrolysis of the peptide backbone.
  • the active zinc center differentiates these proteases from calpains, whose activities are dependent upon the presence of calcium. Confirmation of a protease as a metalloprotease is loss of proteolytic activity accomplished by removal of the zinc center.
  • the zinc center can be removed with 1,10-phenanthroline (1 mM). After titration with Zn 2+ (0.1-100 ⁇ M), proteolytic activity is restored.
  • the metalloprotease contemplated in the context of this invention is a Fusarium metalloprotease, preferably a Fusarium oxysporum metalloprotease.
  • the metalloprotease is a Fusarium oxysporum p45 metalloprotease having the amino acid sequence presented as SEQ ID NO: 2, or a sequence homologous hereto.
  • the metalloprotease contemplated in the context of this invention is a neutral metalloprotease, which is a metalloprotease possessing optimal proteolytic activity in the neutral pH region, i.e. in the range of about pH 6-8, preferably the range of about pH 6.5-7.5, around pH 7.
  • the metalloprotease contemplated in the context of this invention is a neutral Aspergillus metalloprotease of group NpI or NpII.
  • the metalloprotease is an Aspergillus oryzae Neutral Metalloprotease I (NpI) encoded by a cDNA comprising the partial nucleotide sequence presented as SEQ ID NO: 4, or a sequence homologous hereto.
  • NpI Aspergillus oryzae Neutral Metalloprotease I
  • the degree of homology may be determined as the degree of identity between the two sequences indicating a derivation of the first sequence from the second.
  • the homology may suitably be determined by means of computer programs, by methods known in the art, e.g. by comparing 50 bp continuous sequences.
  • the protein encoded by a homologous cDNA sequence exhibits a degree of homology of at least 70% homology, preferably more than 80% homology, more preferred more than 90% homology, most preferred more than 95% homology, with the sequence in question.
  • the gene encoding the metalloprotease may be identified by screening by hybridization for nucleic acid sequences coding for all of, or part of, the metalloprotease, e.g. by using synthetic oligonucleotide probes, that may be prepared on the basis of a cDNA sequence, e.g. the nucleotide sequences presented as SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 4, or on the basis of the amino acid sequence of the metalloprotease, in accordance with standard techniques vide e.g. Sambrook et al.; Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989!.
  • the host cell of the invention genetically modified in order to express significantly reduced levels of a metalloprotease, may be modified using standard recombinant DNA technology, known to the person skilled in the art.
  • the gene sequence responsible for the production of metalloprotease may be inactivated or eliminated entirely.
  • the host cell of the invention is one genetically modified at the structural or regulatory regions encoding the metalloprotease.
  • Known and useful techniques include, but are not limited to, specific or random mutagenesis, PCR generated mutagenesis, site specific DNA deletion, insertion and/or substitution, gene disruption or gene replacement techniques, antisense techniques, or a combination thereof.
  • Mutagenesis may be performed using a suitable physical or chemical mutagenizing agent.
  • a physical or chemical mutagenizing agent suitable for the present purpose includes ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, hydroxylamine, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), O-methyl hydroxylamine, nitrous acid, ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS), sodium bisulfite, formic acid, and nucleotide analogues.
  • UV ultraviolet
  • MNNG N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine
  • EMS ethyl methane sulphonate
  • sodium bisulfite formic acid
  • nucleotide analogues When such agents are used, the mutagenesis is typically performed by incubating he cell to be mutagenized in the presence of the mutagenizing agent of choice under suitable conditions for the mutagenesis to take place, and selecting for mutated cells having a significantly reduced production of metalloprotease
  • Modification may also be accomplished by introduction, substitution or removal of one or more nucleotides in the metalloprotease encoding sequence or a regulatory element required for the transcription or translation thereof. Nucleotides may, e.g., be inserted or removed so as to result in the introduction of a stop codon, the removal of the start codon or a change of the open reading frame.
  • the modification or inactivation of the structural sequence or a regulatory element may be accomplished by site-directed mutagenesis or PCR generated mutagenesis in accordance with methods known in the art. Although in principle, the modification may be performed in vivo, i.e. directly on the cell carrying the metalloprotease gene, it is presently preferred to conduct the modification in vitro.
  • a convenient way to inactivate or reduce the metalloprotease production of a host cell of choice is based on the principles of gene interruption.
  • This method involves the use of a DNA sequence corresponding to the endogenous gene or gene fragment which it is desired to destroy. Said DNA sequence is in vitro mutated to a defective gene and transformed into the host cell. By homologous recombination, the defective gene replaces the endogenous gene or gene fragment. It may be desirable that the defective gene or gene fragment encodes a marker which may be used for selection of transformants in which gene encoding the metalloprotease has been modified or destroyed.
  • the modification or inactivation of the DNA sequence may be performed by use of established anti-sense techniques using a nucleotide sequence complementary to the metalloprotease encoding sequence, e.g. the nucleotide sequences presented as SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 4.
  • the host cell of the invention expresses significantly reduced levels of metalloproteases.
  • the level of metalloprotease expressed by the host cell is reduced more than about 50%, preferably more than about 85%, more preferred more than about 90%, most preferred more than about 95%.
  • the product expressed by the host cell is essentially free of any metalloprotease activity.
  • the invention provides a method of producing proteins (i.e. polypeptides and/or proteins), which method comprises cultivating the host cell of the invention in a suitable growth medium, followed by recovery of the desired product.
  • proteins i.e. polypeptides and/or proteins
  • the proteolytic action of metalloproteases have been significantly reduced, thereby improving the stability of the product obtained.
  • the heterologous protein expressed by the host cell may be obtained as a precursor protein, i.e. a zymogen, a hybrid protein, a protein obtained as a pro sequence or pre-pro sequence, or in unmaturated form.
  • the broth or medium used for culturing may be any conventional medium suitable for growing the host cell in question, and may be composed according to the principles of the prior art.
  • the medium preferably contain carbon and nitrogen sources and other inorganic salts.
  • Suitable media e.g. minimal or complex media, are available from commercial suppliers, or may be prepared according to published receipts, e.g. the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) Catalogue of strains.
  • ATCC American Type Culture Collection
  • the protein is recovered by conventional method for isolation and purification proteins from a culture broth.
  • Well-known purification procedures include separating the cells from the medium by centrifugation or filtration, precipitating proteinaceous components of the medium by means of a salt such as ammonium sulphate, and chromatographic methods such as e.g. ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, affinity chromatography, etc.
  • Fusarium oxysporum DSM 2672 deposited according to the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure at Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zelikulturen GmbH (DSM), Mascheroder Weg 1 b, DE-3300 Braunschweig, Germany, on 6 Jun. 1983.
  • Escherichia coli DH5 ⁇ Hanahan D, J. Mol. Biol. 1983 166 557.
  • NpI which gene encodes Neutral Metalloprotease I.
  • NpI which gene encodes Neutral Metalloprotease II.
  • pyrG which gene encodes orotidine-5'-phosphate decarboxylase, an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of uridine.
  • pToC90 A subclone of p3SR2.
  • the library was essentially constructed according to the instruction from the supplier (Stratagene) of the "SuperCosl Cosmid Vector Kit”.
  • Genomic DNA of Aspergillus oryzae IFO 4177 was prepared from protoplasts made by standard procedures cf. e.g. Christensen et al., Biotechnology 1989 6 1419-1422!. After isolation of the protoplasts these were pelleted by centrifugation at 2500 rpm for 5 minutes in a LabofugeTM T (Heto), the pellet was suspended in 10 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), 1 mM EDTA, 100 ⁇ g/ml ProteinaseTM K and 0.5% SDS, as described in the manual from the Supercos 1 Cosmid Vector Kit, as was the rest of the DNA preparations.
  • the size of the genomic DNA was analyzed by electrophoresis using the CHEF-gel apparatus from Biorad. A 1% agarose gel was run for 20 hours at 200volt with a 10-50 second pulse. The gel was stained by ethidium bromide and photographed. The DNA was 50-100 kb in size. The DNA was partially restricted by Sau3A. The size of the restricted DNA was 20-50 kb determined the same way.
  • the CsCl gradient banded SuperCosl vector was prepared according to the supplier's manual, as was ligation and packaging. After titration of the library, all of the packaging mix from one ligation and packaging was transfected into the host cells XL1 -Blue MR and plated on 50 ⁇ g/ml ampicillin LB plates. Approx. 3800 colonies were obtained. Cosmid preparation from 10 colonies showed that they all had inserts of expected size. The colonies were picked individually and inoculated in microtiter plate wells with 100 ⁇ l LB (100 ⁇ g/ml ampicillin) and incubated at 37° C. over night. 100 ⁇ l of 50% glycerol was added to each well, and the whole library was frozen at -80° C. A total of 3822 colonies were stored. This represents the Aspergillus oryzae genome approx. 4.4 times.
  • Fusarium oxysporum DSM 2672 broth is centrifuged at 9000 rpm for 10 minutes and the supernatant is filtered through a 0.45 ⁇ m filter. 200 ml of filtrate is concentrated down to 10 ml on an Amicon cell (PM 10 membrane) and Centriprep-0 (Amicon). 5 ml of concentrate is diluted to 100 ml and pH adjusted to 5 with acetic acid and run on a 1 ml Mono-S column in the following buffer: 0.1M borate, 10 mM DMG, 2 mM calcium chloride, pH 5.2, in a gradient of 0 to 0.5M sodium chloride over 70 minutes. After 10 minutes of wash in the above identified buffer at a flow rate of 1 ml/minute, 1.5 ml fractions are collected and concentrated on Centricon-10 (Amicon).
  • Metalloprotease activity is measured as released trypsin activity from the pro-trypsin-like protease from the strain Fusarium oxysporum DSM 2672, after a 30-60 minutes pre-incubation at 25° C. in 0.1M TRIS, 2 mM CaCl 2 , pH 7 (at lower pH, 100 mM borate, 10 mM DMG, 2 mM CaCl 2 is used).
  • the tryptic activity is measured in microtiter plates, 100 ⁇ l samples are mixed with 100 ⁇ l of substrate (stock: 87 mg/ml L-BAPNA (Sigma) in DMSO, diluted 50-fold in buffer), and the absorption at 405 nm is measured using a Thermomax reader from Molecular Devices.
  • SDS-PAGE (10-27%, Novex) is run according to the manufacturer's instructions. Samples to be run are pre-incubated with PMSF before adding sample buffer. Electro blotting onto pro-blot membranes (Applied Biosystems) is performed in 3 mM Na 2 CO 3 , 10 mM NaHCO 3 , 20% MeOH, pH 9.9, at 30 V for 2 hours using the blotting module from Novex. The pro-blot is stained as described by Applied Biosystems.
  • Isoelectric focusing is run on an Ampholine PAG-plate (Pharmacia), pH 3.5 to 9.5, and stained according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  • the gel to be overlaid is first equilibrated for 15 minutes in 0.1M TRIS, 2 mM CaCl 2 , pH 8.1, and then overlaid with 10 ml 1% agarose, 0.1M TRIS, 2 mM CaCl 2 , pH 8.1, added 300 ⁇ l L-BAPNA (Sigma) stock and 500 ⁇ l pro-trypsin-like Fusarium oxysporum DSM 2672 protease ( ⁇ 0.25 mg/ml).
  • Microwave facilitated vapor phase hydrolysis of lyophilized samples is performed using the MDS-2000 hydrolysis station (CEM). 6N HCl containing 1% phenol (scavenger) is used for creating the vapor phase. Hydrolysis time is 20 minutes at 70 psi ( ⁇ 148° C.). Hydrolysed samples are lyophilized and redissolved in 20 ⁇ l of 500 pmol/ ⁇ l sarcosine and norvaline as internal standard. The analysis is done using the AminoQuant from Hewlett-Packard according to the manufacturer's instructions. 1 ⁇ l of sample is injected. Amino acid sequencing is performed using the 476A Protein Sequencer from Applied Biosystems according to the manufacturer's instructions. Premixed buffers are used for the online-HPLC.
  • the p45 metalloprotease is purified from concentrated and filtered fermentation broth by cation-exchange chromatography (Mono-S) followed by gel filtration on Superose 12. Fractions from Mono-S are selected by assaying for metalloprotease activity as released trypsin-like activity from pro-trypsin-like Fusarium oxysporum DSM 2672 protease.
  • Metalloprotease containing fractions from the Superose-12 column are identified by the same assay procedure as for the Mono-S fractions.
  • the purified metalloprotease appears as a single band on SDS-PAGE at 45 kDa.
  • Two isoforms of the metalloprotease are observed in IEF (pH 3.5-9.5) at respectively pH 8.4 and 8.7.
  • a portion of the Fusarium oxysporum p45 metalloprotease gene is first cloned by PCR.
  • One primer is designed using the N-terminal protein sequence (SEQ ID NO: 3), and a reverse primer is designed from an internal metalloprotease peptide sequence (residues 483-515 of SEQ ID NO: 1).
  • PCR is performed using the DNA primers and genomic DNA isolated from Fusarium oxysporum. Genomic DNA is isolated as follows.
  • Fusarium oxysporum is grown in MY50 medium (50 g/l maltodextrin, 2 g/l Mg 2 SO 4 , 10 g/l KH 2 PO 4 , 2 g/l citric acid, 10 g/l yeast extract, 2 g/l urea, 2 g/l K 2 SO 4 , 0.5 ml trace metal solution, adjusted to pH 6 with 5N NaOH) at 30° C.
  • Mycelia are suspended in 16 ml TE (10 mM TRIS, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0), split into two tubes, and approx. 12 g of 0.45-0.52 mm glass beads (Thomas Scientific) are added to each tube.
  • the samples are alternately vortexed and iced for 30 second intervals until a noticeable viscosity breakdown occurs.
  • the samples are alternately vortexed two additional 30 second intervals.
  • 2.5 ml 20% SDS is added to each sample.
  • the samples are mixed by inversion, incubated 10 minutes at room temperature, and mixed again. Samples are spun 8 minutes at 3.5 K at room temperature. Supernatants are combined in a 50 ml polypropylene tube.
  • the sample is extracted with an equal volume of TE equilibrated with phenol:chloroform:isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1) (P/C/l extracted), then centrifuged 10 minutes at 10,000 rpm at 4° C.
  • the supernatant is treated with 300 ⁇ l 10 mg/ml Proteinase K for 30 minutes at 25° C.
  • the DNA is P/C/l extracted as described above, ethanol precipitated and dissolved in 5 ml TE.
  • the sample is treated with 150 ⁇ l 10 mg/l RNAase A for 15 minutes at 65° C., then 15 minutes at 25° C.
  • the sample is created again with Proteinase K (100 ⁇ l 10 mg/ml for 1.5 hours at 25° C.) and P/C/l extracted twice and ethanol precipitated.
  • the DNA is pooled onto a bent pasteur pipet and transferred to 5 ml 80% ethanol.
  • the sample is spun 3 minutes at 10,000 rpm.
  • the DNA pellet is dried briefly, then dissolved in 1 ml TE.
  • PCR is used to clone a portion of the Fusarium oxysporum p45 gene.
  • 50-100 ng Fusarium oxysporum genomic DNA is mixed with approx. 100 pmoles each of the synthetic PCR primer DNAs in 1X Taq buffer (Boehringer Mannheim) and a concentration of 100 ⁇ l each of dGTP, dATP, dTTP and dCTP in a volume of 50 ⁇ l.
  • Taq DNA polymerase Boehringer Mannheim
  • 1-5 units is added, and the PCR incubations are, 95° C. for 5 minutes, then 35 cycles of 95° C. for 30 seconds; 50° C. for 1 minute; and 72° C. for 1 minute!.
  • the PCR reaction produces two DNA fragments of approx. 1.0 and 1.3 kb in length. These fragments are isolated by gel electrophoresis, purified, cloned into an E. coli replicating plasmid, and sequenced using standard methods known in the art of molecular biology.
  • the 1.0 kb DNA fragment is found to contain Fusarium oxysporum p45 gene sequences by a comparison of the translations of the DNA with amino acid sequences obtained from direct protein sequencing. Therefore, this 1.0 kb PCR generated DNA fragment is used as a probe to clone the entire metalloprotease gene from a Fusarium oxysporum genomic DNA library.
  • a genomic library in lambda phage is prepared from the Fusarium oxysporum genomic DNA using methods such as those described by Sambrook et al. Sambrook et al.; Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989!.
  • a total of 50 ⁇ g genomic DNA is digested in a volume of 200 ⁇ l containing 10 mM TRIS, pH 7.5, 50 mM NaCl, 7 mM MgCl 2 , 7 mM 2-mercaptoethanol, and 4 units restriction enzyme Sau3A for one minute at 25° C.
  • Partially digested DNA of molecular size 10-20 kb is isolated by agarose gel electrophoresis, followed by electroelution into dialysis membrane and concentration using an Elutip-D column (Schleicher and Schuell).
  • Elutip-D column Scholecher and Schuell.
  • One ⁇ g of lambda arms of phage of EMBL4 that had been cut with restriction enzyme BamHI and treated with phosphatase (Clonetech), is ligated with 300-400 ⁇ g Sau3A cut genomic DNA in a volume of 25 ⁇ l under standard conditions cf. Sambrook et al; Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989!.
  • Lambda phage are prepared from this litigation mix using a commercially available kit (Gigapack Gold II, Stratagene), following the manufacturers instructions.
  • the plating of approx. 18,000 recombinant lambda phage, and the production of filter lifts (to N+filters, Amersham) were performed using standard techniques cf. Sambrook et al.; Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989!.
  • the filters are processed for hybridization with a Genious Kit for non-radioactive nucleic acids detection (Boehringer Mannheim) using the instructions provided by the manufacturer.
  • the DNA used as p45 probe is the 1.0 kb PCR fragment obtained as described above.
  • the probe is labelled by PCR incorporation of dioxigenin (DIG) using a DIG labelling kit and the instructions supplied by the manufacturer.
  • DIG dioxigenin
  • Fifteen ng of the 1.0 kb p45 fragment is mixed in 1X Taq Buffer (Boehringer Mannheim) with 100 pmoles each N-terminal primer and internal reverse primer, and 1-5 units Taq polymerase (Boehringer Mannheim) in a total volume of 80 ⁇ l. Reaction conditions were 95° C. for 3 minutes, then 35 cycles of 95° C. for 30 seconds; 50° C. for 1 minute; and 72° C. for 1 minute!, and 72° C. for 5 minutes.
  • the filter hybridizations using the DIG labelled probe and the wash conditions were performed using the instructions provided by the Genious Kit manufacturer.
  • Hybridizing phages are detected with an alkaline phosphatase-conjugated anti-dioxigenin antibody visualized with Lumiphos 530 as described by the manufacturer (Boehringer Mannheim).
  • DNA preparations are made from the positive lambda clones using the Qiagen Lambda Midi Kit (QIAGEN, Inc.). DNA from one preparation is digested with restriction enzyme EcoR1 and a 6.3 kb fragment is subcloned into plasmid pUC118. DNA sequence analysis of portions of this subclone identified the entire coding region of the p45 gene, cf. SEQ ID NO: 1.
  • Total RNA and poly-A RNA is prepared from Fusarium oxysporum according to the previous published protocols Chirgwin et al., Biochemistry, 1988 5294-5299; Aviv and Leder, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, 1972 69 1408-1412; Sambrook et al.; Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989! with the following modifications.
  • mycelia is ground in liquid nitrogen to a fine powder and then resuspended, with stirring, in a lysis buffer containing 4M guanidinium thiocyanate, 0.5% Na-laurylsarcosine, 25 mM Na-citrate and 0.1M 2-mercaptoethanol, pH 7.0, for 30 minutes at room temperature.
  • Cell debris is removed by low speed (5000 rpm for 30 minutes) centrifugation.
  • the poly-A RNA fraction is isolated using oligo (dT) cellulose obtained from Boehringer Mannheim.
  • the poly-A RNA is used to generate cDNA using the hairpin/RNaseH method Sambrook et al.; Molecular Cloning, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1989!. Specifically, 5 ⁇ g poly-A RNA in 5 ⁇ l water is heated at 70° C., then placed on ice.
  • a total reaction mix of 50 ⁇ l is prepared containing the poly-A RNA, 50 mM TRIS, pH 8.3, 75 mM KCl, 3 mM MgCl 2 , 10 mM DTT, 1 mM each dGTP, dATP, dTTP and dCTP, 40 units RNasin, 10 ⁇ g oligo (dT12-18) primer, and 1000 units SuperScript II RNase H-- reverse transcriptase (Bethesda Research Laboratories). The mix is incubated at 45° C. for one hour.
  • Second strand DNA synthesis is performed in this solution at 16° C. for 3 hours.
  • the DNA is concentrated by ethanol precipitation and the pellet is resuspended in 30 ⁇ l of 30 mM Na-acetate, pH 4.6, 300 mM NaCl, 1 mM ZnSO 4 , 0.35 mM DTT, 2% glycerol, and 30 units Mung Bean nuclease (Bethesda Research Laboratories) at 30° C. for 30 minutes.
  • the DNA solution is neutralized with 70 ⁇ l 10 mM TRIS, pH 7.5, 1 mM EDTA, phenol extracted, and ethanol precipitated.
  • the pellet is treated with 7.5 units T4 polymerase (Invitrogen) at 25° C.
  • the cDNA with EcoR1 linkers is size fractionated on an agarose gel to obtain cDNAs of molecular size 0.7 kb or greater.
  • the cDNA is recovered from the gel by electroelution and purified by phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation.
  • the size fractionated cDNA is used to construct a lambda cDNA library.
  • the cDNA is cloned into lambda ZIPLOX arms (Gibco BRL).
  • Full length cDNA clones are identified using a 467 bp dioxigenin labeled fragment as probe (bp 336-803 of the genomic clone) with the techniques of plaque lifts and DNA hybridization as previously described.
  • Full length rDNA is recovered in plasmid pZL1 as described by the manufacturer (strains and plasmid from Bibco BRL).
  • the full length cDNA is sequenced and compared with the sequence of the genomic DNA.
  • the genomic DNA is 2052 bp in length and contains three introns.
  • the predicted coding region of pre-pro p45 metalloprotease consists of a putative 18 amino acid signal sequence, a 226 amino acid pro-region, and a 388 amino acid mature region, as shown in SEQ ID NO: 1.
  • Plasmid pDM115 contains a 1.76 kb fragment of Fusarium oxysporum cDNA, that encodes part of the p45 gene. This plasmid was digested with SaII and the fragments were separated on a 1% agarose gel. The 1.5 kb fragment was cut out and DNA eluted. This fragment was labelled with 32-P-dATP by random-primed labeling and used for either Southern or colony lift probing.
  • the individually frozen colonies in the library were inoculated onto LB-plates (100 ⁇ g/ml ampicillin) by using a multipin device with 6 times 8 pins fitting into half a microtiter dish. Plates were made containing colonies from all clones in the library. The plates were incubated at 37° C. over night. Sterilized Whatman 540 filters cut to the size of a petri dish were placed upon the colonies which were incubated for two more hours at 37° C. The filters were transferred to LB plates containing 200 ⁇ g/ml of chloramphenicol and the plates were incubated over night at 37° C. The next day the filters were washed twice in 0.5M NaOH for 5 minutes, then twice in 0.5M Tris-HCl (pH 7.4) for 5 minutes and then twice in 2 ⁇ SSC for 5 minutes. The filters were wet with ethanol and air dried.
  • the filters were hybridized with the 1.5 kb 32 p labelled DNA fragment from pDM115 containing the protease gene from Fusarium oxysporum. The hybridization was carried out for 16 hours at 65° C. in 10 ⁇ Denhart, 5 ⁇ SSC, 0.02M EDTA, 1% SDS, 0.15 mg/ml polyA, and 0.05 mg/ml yeast tRNA. After hybridization the filters were washed in 2 ⁇ SSC, 0.1% SDS at 65° C. twice and placed on X-ray films. Three colonies showed hybridization to the probe, namely 3E8, 3C1 and 2A5, the names refer to their position in the library.
  • Plasmid pToC65 was digested with SacI and treated with bacterial alkaline phosphatase to remove the 5'-phosphate groups according to the manufacturers instructions. Afterwards it was phenol extracted and precipitated.
  • the 5.5 kb SacI fragment from cosmid clone 3E8 containing the Aspergillus oryzae NpI gene was isolated by gel electrophoresis and purified.
  • the Aspergillus oryzae pyrG gene was cloned by cross hybridization with the Aspergillus niger pyrG gene W. van Hartingsveldt et al; Mol. Gen. Genet 1987 206 71-75!.
  • a lambda library of partial SaulllA digested Aspergillus oryzae IFO 4177 DNA was probed at low stringency with a 1 kb DNA fragment from the Aspergillus niger pyrG gene.
  • DNA from a positive clone was subcloned into a pUC118 vector.
  • the resultant plasmid, pSO2 was shown to contain the pyrG gene by complementation of an Aspergillus niger pyrG - mutant, cf. FIG. 1.
  • the strain Aspergillus oryzae IFO 4177 was transformed with this construct and transformants were selected by resistance to 5-fluoro-orotic acid, a phenotype characteristic of pyrG mutants.
  • HowB101 One transformant, HowB101, was shown by Southern analysis to have the expected deletion at the pyrG locus. Being a pyrG mutant, HowB101 requires uridine for growth. HowB101 can be transformed with the wt pyrG gene by selection for ability to grow without uridine.
  • Primer A GGAGGAAGATCTCTCTGGTACTCTTCGATCTC: SEQ ID NO: 5;
  • Primer B GGAGGAGAATTCMGCTTCTTCTACATCACAGTTTGAAAGC; SEQ ID NO: 6.
  • the underlined part corresponds to the Aspergillus oryzae pyrG gene sequence.
  • Primer A contains a BgIII restriction endonuclase site
  • primer B contains a EcoRI and a HindIII restriction endonuclase site
  • Plasmid pSO2 was used as template in the PCR reaction. Amplification was performed in 100 ⁇ l volumes containing 2.5 units Taq-polymerase, 100 ng of pSO2, 50 mM KCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0,1.5 mM MgCl 2 , 250 nM of each dNTP, and 10 pmol of each of the two primers described above.
  • Amplification was carried out in a Perkin-Elmer Cetus DNA Termal 480, and consisted of one cycle of 3 minutes at 94° C., followed by 25 cycles of 1 minutes at 94° C., 30 seconds at 55° C., and 1 minutes at 72° C.
  • the PCR reaction produced one DNA fragment of 430 bp in length. This fragment was digested with BgIII and EcoRI, and isolated by gel electrophoresis. It was purified and cloned into the corresponding site in plasmid pSO2. The resulting plasmid was called pJaL335. The construction of pJaL335 is illustrated in FIG. 3.
  • Plasmid pJaL389 was digested with Ball, and treated with Klenow polymerase to make the ends blunt.
  • the 7.1 kb fragment was isolated by gel electrophoresis, and purified. This DNA fragment was then treated with bacterial alkaline phosphatase to remove the 5' phosphate groups according to the manufacturer's instructions and phenol extracted and precipitated.
  • Plasmid pJaL335 was digested with HindlIl, and treated with Klenow polymerase to make the ends blunt.
  • the 3.5 kb fragment encoding the Aspergillus oryzae pyrG gene was isolated by gel electrophoresis and purified.
  • pJaL399 holds a pToC65 vector containing a fragment which carries the NpI gene flanked by SacI sites, and where the central 1.1 kb Ball fragment has been replaced by an 3.5 kb DNA fragment encoding the Aspergillus oryzae pyrG gene.
  • Aspergillus oryzae HowB101 host strain is preformed by the protoplast method Christensen et al.; Biotechnology 1988 6 1419-1422!.
  • Aspergillus oryzae mycelia is grown in a rich nutrient broth.
  • the mycelia is separated from the broth by filtration.
  • NovozymeTM available from Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark
  • an osmotically stabilizing buffer such as 1.2M MgSO 4 buffered to pH 5.0 with sodium phosphate.
  • the suspension is incubated for 60 minutes at 37° C. with agitation.
  • the protoplasts are filtered through mira-cloth to remove mycelial debris.
  • the protoplasts are harvested and washed twice with STC (1.2M sorbitol, 10 mM CaCl 2 , 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5). Finally, the protoplasts are resuspended in 200-1000 ⁇ l STC.
  • DNA is prepared from the individual mycelia by grinding the mycelia to a fine powder with a pestle in the tube. This powder is resuspended in 0.5 ml of 50 mM EDTA pH 8.0, 0.2% SDS, 1 ⁇ l DEP, by vortexing. After incubation at 65° C. for 20 minutes, 0.1 ml 5M KAc pH 6.5, is added and the solution is mixed and incubated on ice for 5 minutes. The cell debris is separated from the DNA solution by centrifugation at 20.000 rpm for 5 minutes. 0.4 ml supernatant is precipitated with 0.3 ml isopropanol and centrifugated at 20.000 rpm for 10 minutes. The DNA pellet is redisolved in 100 ⁇ l of sterile TE buffer containing 0.1 mg/ml RNAaseA.
  • each DNA is digested with Ball, fractionated by agarose gel electroferase, transferred to Immobilan-N membrane filters.
  • the filters were hybridized with the 5.5 kb 32 P labelled DNA SacI fragment from pJaL389 containing the NpI protease gene.
  • Strains which carry a disruption of the NpI gene are recognized by lacking the 1.1 kb Ball hybridizing fragment as well as having altered mobility of the other two flanking fragments.
  • a primer (CTAGGATCCAAGGOATTTATGCGTGTCACTACTCTC; SEQ ID NO: 7) was constructed so that the 3' end of the nucleotide sequence corresponds to the N-terminal part of the NpII gene (underlined), and the 5'-end is for facilitating cloning (contains a BamHI restriction endonuclease site).
  • a primer (CTACTCGAGTTAGCACTTGAGCTCGATAGC; SEQ ID NO: 8) was constructed so that the 3' end of the nucleotide sequence corresponds to the C-terminal part of the NpII gene (underlined), and the 5'-end is for facilitating cloning (contains a Xhol restriction endonuclease site).
  • Genomic DNA from Aspergillus oryzae IFO 4177 was used as template in the PCR reaction.
  • Amplification reaction was performed in 100 ⁇ l volumes containing 2.5 units Taq-polymerase, 100 ng of Aspergillus oryzae genomic DNA, 50 mM KCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.0,1.5 mM MgCl 2 , 250 nM of each dNTP, and 100 ⁇ M of each of the two primers described above.
  • Amplification was carried out in a Perkin-Elmer Cetus DNA Termal 480, and consisted of one cycle of 3 minutes at 94° C., followed by 25 cycles of 1 minutes at 94° C., 30 seconds at 55° C., and 1 minutes at 72° C.
  • the PCR reaction produces one DNA fragment of approx. 1.1 kb in length. This fragment was isolated by gel electrophoresis, purified, cloned into the vector pCRTMII (Invitrogen Corporation), and sequenced using standard methods known in the art of molecular biology. The resulting plasmid was called pJaL198.
  • the Aspergillus oryzae pyrG gene was cloned by cross hybridization with the Aspergillus niger pyrG gene W. van Hartingsveldt et al.; Mol. Gen. Genet. 1987 206 71-75!.
  • a lambda library of partial SauIIIA digested Aspergillus oryzae IFO 4177 DNA was probed at low stringency with a 1 kb DNA fragment from the Aspergillus niger pyrG gene.
  • DNA from a positive clone was subcloned into a pUC118 vector.
  • the resultant plasmid, pSO2 was shown to contain the pyrG gene by complementation of an Aspergillus niger pyrG - mutant, cf. FIG. 1.
  • the strain Aspergillus oryzae IFO 4177 was transformed with this construct, and transformants were selected by resistance to 5-fluoro-orotic acid, a phenotype characteristic of pyrG mutants.
  • One transformant, HowB101 was shown by Southern analysis to have the expected deletion at the pyrG locus. Being a pyrG mutant, HowB101 requires uridine for growth. HowB101 can be transformed with the wt pyrG gene by selection for ability to grow without uridine.
  • Plasmid pJaL198 is digested with BstIII and treated with Klenow polymerase to make the ends blunt.
  • the 4.9 kb fragment was isolated by gel electrophoresis and purified. This DNA fragment was then treated with bacterial alkaline phosphatase to remove the 5' phosphate groups, according to the manufacturers instructions, phenol extracted and precipitated.
  • Plasmid pJers4 was digested with HindlIl and treated with Klenow polymerase to make the ends blunt.
  • the 1.8 kb fragment encoding the Aspergillus oryzae pyrG gene was isolated by gel electrophoresis and purified.
  • pJaL218 consists of the pCRTMll vector containing a fragment which carries the NpII gene flanked by EcoRI sites, in which the central BstEII fragment has been replaced by a 1.8 kb DNA fragment encoding the Aspergillus oryzae pyrG gene.
  • the protoplast was harvested and washed twice with STC (1.2M sorbitol, 10 mM CaCl 2 , 10 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5). The protoplast was finally resuspended in 200-1000 ⁇ l STC.
  • the primers used were CCCTTCTTTCCAAACCG (SEQ ID NO: 9), which is located 5' from the encoding region of the NpII gene, and pyrG-5' (GGGTGAGCCACTGCCTC; SEQ ID NO: 10), which is specific for the pyrG gene.
  • CCCTTCTTTCCAAACCG SEQ ID NO: 9
  • pyrG-5' GGGTGAGCCACTGCCTC; SEQ ID NO: 10
  • Aspergillus oryzae strain JaL121 was transformed with the plasmid pToC56 (cf. FIG. 6), which is a fungal expression plasmid for the mammalian enzyme chymosin, by co-transformation with pToC90.
  • plasmid pToC56 is described in EP 98 993 A.
  • Transformants were selected for growth on minimal medium containing 10 mM acetamide, and screened for the presence of pToC56 by the ability to produce chymosin.
  • a transformant was grown in shake flasks for 4 days at 30° C. in a medium containing maltodextrin, soybean meal and peptone.
  • a transformant of pToC56 in Aspergillus oryzae IFO 4177 was grown together with the JaL 121 transformant.

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US10513724B2 (en) 2014-07-21 2019-12-24 Glykos Finland Oy Production of glycoproteins with mammalian-like N-glycans in filamentous fungi

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EP0815200A1 (de) 1998-01-07
CN1769423A (zh) 2006-05-10
AU4940096A (en) 1996-10-08
ATE353953T1 (de) 2007-03-15
JPH11502111A (ja) 1999-02-23
JP2006204304A (ja) 2006-08-10
ES2281079T3 (es) 2007-09-16
DE69636899T2 (de) 2007-10-31
CN1225550C (zh) 2005-11-02
DK0815200T3 (da) 2007-06-11
EP0815200B1 (de) 2007-02-14
WO1996029391A1 (en) 1996-09-26
JP3974171B2 (ja) 2007-09-12
US5968774A (en) 1999-10-19
DE69636899D1 (de) 2007-03-29
CN1179178A (zh) 1998-04-15

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